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Raiden was a man and other thoughtful observations

Raiden was a man,
and other thoughtful observations

It’s
been a long, bumpy, but ultimately fun road.From the first time I ever played Space Invaders at my grandfather’s
house to this year’s E3, gaming has, in some form or another, been a part of
my life.For the past two years I
have had an incredible time working in the field of video game journalism,
combining my love for games with my passion for writing.However, as with all things in life, my time with games has come to an
end.As some of you may have
noticed, I have left my position as Managing Editor at PSX Extreme.com.There were a lot of factors involved in my decision to leave video games
and journalism, but the biggest by far was my inability to come to grips with
the irony of being both a critic and a fan of games.My father always told me that no one wants to grow up to be a cynic, but
that is exactly what I have become in regards to games.In my final editorial, I thought I would examine some of the observations
I have made during my tenure that have caused the problem that currently plagues
me.

Observation #1-
Raiden was a man

Right
now you’re probably thinking, “Bravo, Captain Obvious,” but hold on just
one damn second, will ya!Raiden was
a man.You can’t just take Hideo Kojima’s word for it; after
all, Kojima-san is the master of the unexpected.The first time I played Sons of Liberty and met the enigmatic character
known as Raiden/Jack (remember, Jack could always be short for Jackie- there is
no law prohibiting lesbians from being secret agents), I thought to myself, “well,
Raiden kind of sounds like a man, but he looks like a girl, and he carries his
gun like it’s a purse”.It
only got worse the first time I had Raiden hold-up a guard.The way he yelled “Freeze!”….
I kept expecting Raiden to add the words “Or
I’ll scream!” or something.It
was all just too…. feminine, don’t you think?I mean, Chun-Li of Street Fighter is more masculine than Raiden, and she
has breasts, for crying out loud!It wasn’t until President Johnson copped a feel in Shell 2 that I could
finally rest at ease knowing Raiden was actually a man.

The
problem this created was that I realized the inherent problem with characters in
video games.I mean, if I ever saw
a guy walking down the street in a purple jumpsuit with dog collars on his arms
and hair that resembled a porcupine (I am, of course, talking about Cloud
Strife), I would probably beat him with a lead weighted sap simply out of
principle.Too many characters are
simply far too weird to relate to.I
understand the fact that fantasy and escapism is part of the allure of gaming,
but it’s just too much.Books and
movies also share the idea of escapism, and some would argue to a much larger
extent.However, they don’t seem
nearly as steeped in utterly ridiculous character design and presentation.Part of taking on a character in a video game is that you can relate to
them, that you can identify with them.I’m
sorry, but I just can’t relate to characters that make Dennis Rodman appear
normal.My favorite video game
character of all time is Solid Snake- a man who sneaks around in shadows in
skintight polyurethane (which shows off his disturbing love of thong underwear)
and wears a bandana wrapped around a mullet.Now, when I conjure up a vision of Snake, I swear I can see him front row
at a Georgia Satellites concert singing along to “Keep your hands to
Yourself!”Sad, indeed.

Granted,
not every genre suffers from this problem.Tactical shooters such as America’s Army, for instance, are incredibly
believable when it comes to characters- until you realize that most of the guys
you’re playing with, in reality, are old men with beer bellies and
dissatisfied wives.Oh, by the way,
not to spoil the plot of Metal Gear Solid 3, but Raiden won’t be back.Rumor is he killed himself in shame after finding out that
Leonardo DiCaprio is more of a man than he is.

Observation #2- All
your base are belong to ME!

For
years, Japan dominated the video game industry.It really wasn’t until the mid 1990’s or so that American
developers and publishers really started getting in on the action.Even today, Japan still dominates the market, in spite of Electronic Arts
being the biggest game publisher in the world.The problem?How do you know
what you’re really playing?No
matter what the medium, whether it’s books, movies or music, any time
something is translated from one culture/language to another it loses its
original intent.If you are fluent
in more than one language, try reading the same book in two languages, and you
will see exactly what I mean.This
problem with translation, when it comes to games, is sometimes obvious,
especially when it comes to text based games.We’ve all seen silly lines such as
“You cannot stop me with paramecium alone”,“Your fists of evil are about to
meet my steel wall of niceness,” and of course “All
your base are belong to us!”.How
can we trust the translation?How
do we know we’re playing what we were meant to play?

It
only gets worse with spoken dialogue, because we have no way of knowing when
there has been a mistranslation.Japanese
dialect and English dialect are so very, very different.There is a certain structure to Japanese language that is not present in
Modern English. The Japanese language is far more flexible when it comes to
expressing a person’s social class, maturity, education, etc.Therefore, in most translations a lot of the subtlety is lost; and you
never even knew it, did you?

Observation #3-
Silly rabbit, Nintendo is for kids!

Yes,
we’ve heard it time and again- Nintendo is only for little kids.While the Nintendo loyal will vehemently defend the overwhelming maturity
of the Nintendo library, the immutable fact is that Nintendo is for kids, and so
are Sony and Microsoft, for that matter.The
reason for this is that this industry is unwilling to grow up.Oh, sure, there are bloody games out there with plenty of mature,
sophisticated content that is aimed towards older audiences such as myself; that
cannot be denied.I am talking more
about this industry’s recalcitrance when it comes to owning up to the irony of
their own medium.

Developers
have known for quite some time that they are treading thin ice.They want to bring us adult content similar to that found in some of
Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, but they are doing so in a medium of
entertainment that is largely seen as being solely for children.Part of this common conception of games is that for a long time, games were targeted almost exclusively towards children.However, while the content and target audience of games has matured, the
industry has not.Even in the face of dangerous legislation and court rulings
that could cripple the video game industry, the IDSA (the representative
organization of gaming) has refused to compromise one bit.Instead of working with government to mutual benefit (such as agreeing to
regulation of ESRB ratings), the IDSA instead attempts to defy common sense with
its piss poor defense of gaming.I’ll
never forgive the IDSA for it’s miserable defense of games last April, when
Judge Stephen Limbaugh ruled that games are not to be considered free speech.This should have been a slam dunk decision in favor of the industry, yet
the IDSA couldn’t even be bothered to put up an adequate defense of their
position, and subsequently lost (for more on this issue, please see our Special
Feature- Sons of Liberty: A Gamer’s Right).

The
simple fact is that this industry is immature and irresponsible.Being the representative of the fastest growing entertainment medium in
the world, the IDSA has a great chance to get the word out: games aren’t just
for kids.That they don’t is
beyond me.Until the IDSA, or
someone better suited, helps this industry grow up, every game you lay your
hands on is the epitome of immaturity.

Observation #4- I
am a complete idiot

Everything I have said up to this point is true; the
problem is that I didn’t need to know it was.I should have been content to enjoy games as an occasional, delightful
escape from reality.However, for
reasons I still cannot fathom, I chose a career path that I knew, at least on a
subconscious level, would ultimately lay bare the naked underbelly of this
industry.In doing so I have
destroyed my love of games, and fatally crippled my passion for writing.Perhaps I am simply too cynical for my own good.Perhaps this just wasn’t the career for me.Either way, I realize now the stupidity of my actions, and how
dramatically they have changed my life for the worse.

During
my tenure in this industry, I have always tried to enlighten my readers, to help
give them a better understanding of the games they love so much.However, after two years, I have come to realize there is only one true
thing you need to know- ignorance is bliss.It’s one thing to talk about games with your friends or on a forum, but
trust me, you don’t want to know too much.It really won’t help you enjoy your games any more, and it will
definitely hurt your overall view of them.If you need further proof, you haven’t been paying attention.

In parting, I would just like to say that, while
I leave this industry on somewhat of a low note, there are many things about games that have ultimately enriched my life.The people I have met along the way, especially Val and Arnold Katayev
(Founder and Co-Founder/EIC of PSX Extreme.com) as well as the entire PSX
Extreme.com staff, have truly made me a better person in many aspects.They’ve made me laugh and they’ve made my cry.Sometimes they made me wish I owned a gun.In the end, though, I am a better person for having known
them.Of course, my biggest thanks
goes to you, the reader.Without
you, I would never have had this job, and I wouldn’t have met so many cool and
interesting people, like the weirdoes that populate our forums.Just remember one thing; father knows best: no one wants to grow up to be
a cynic.